Thursday, April 30, 2026

SojoMail - King Charles and a wannabe king

By Betsy Shirley
Editor in Chief, Sojourners

This week, King Charles III became the second British monarch to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress. The irony was thick: The king used his speech to praise the virtues of democracy to a country that, 250 years ago, leveled a laundry list of grievances at Charles’ own five-times-great grandfather. Meanwhile, the White House released a photo of Charles and President Donald Trump captioned: “TWO KINGS.”

When kings praise democracy and presidents style themselves as kings, it’s easy to just laugh bitterly at the ridiculousness of our present political moment. But as José Humphreys III writes in his latest column, ignoring these feelings of bitterness primes us for resentment and even a longing for vengeance. Instead, he suggests an alternate strategy for finding relief.

Elsewhere this week, a church brings dementia out of the shadows, a Broadway musical considers joy amid the pain of miscarriage, and film critic Zachary Lee explores why space films like Project Hail Mary move us to awe. Plus: a Wheaton professor/manga superfan considers why that cartoon pirate flag you may have seen at protests can be an inspiration to Jesus followers.

I Won’t Let Resentment Determine Who I Become (by José Humphreys III)

What Nelson Mandela’s life can teach us about healing and liberation.

Read the full article

Our Latest Stories

A Musical About Miscarriage and the Strange Work of Joy (by Jim McDermott)

“The depth of the grief shows the depth of the love,” Shaun Benson, co-creator of ‘My Joy Is Heavy!’ told Sojourners. “You don’t have the one without the other.”

My Father Has Alzheimer’s. A Church Became Our Refuge (by Courtney E. Martin)

America is getting older. The need for a public awakening around dementia and Alzheimer’s is only going to get bigger in the years ahead.

From Artemis II to Cinema, Why Are We Drawn to Space Stories? (by Zachary Lee)

‘Project Hail Mary,’ ‘Prometheus,’ and four other films that bring the “Overview Effect” down to Earth.

From the Magazine: The Manga Jolly Roger That Became a Global Protest Symbol (by Chuck Liu)

Why the messianic pirate hero of ‘One Piece’ is a lot like Jesus.

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